SAN FRANSISCO: Loophole keeps FDA in the dark on tainted food imports - (USA Today)
November 19, 2007 – 6:58 pmSAN FRANCISCO David Eisenberg, chairman of Anresco Labs, was cited as saying that about 150 imported food shipments a month are tested at his laboratory for contaminants consumers shouldn’t eat, like mercury in swordfish, salmonella in shrimp and filth in mushrooms, and that at least 10% of the time, the lab finds the shipments contaminated.
Eisenberg was further cited as saying that most of the time, the lab tells no one but the importer who’s paying for the test. The Food and Drug Administration is none the wiser.
The practice has been going on for years, at Anresco and other labs that test imported food. The FDA gets the favorable test results, but failing ones aren’t sent to the FDA if importers tell labs not to send them, five lab operators told USA TODAY.
This is not news to the FDA, which regulates most of the imported foods consumers eat. There is […]
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